Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as she discusses what may be in store for corporate tax reform under President Biden’s administration with Todd Simmens, one of BDO’s National Tax Partners. Key Takeaways Talking points indicate President Biden is in favor of scaling back provisions put forth by the prior administration Key corporate tax anticipated changes include: increasing the corporate tax rate from the current 21% up to 28% restoring the Alternative Minimum Tax to a rate...
Feb 03, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as she discusses drivers of audit quality underlying high quality financial reporting that audit committees, management and users of financial statements can trust in with the leaders of BDO Assurance and Audit practices Christopher Tower and Phillip Austin. Key Takeaways Audit committees are encouraged to understand how their auditors define audit quality and relevant audit quality indicators across a framework that considers people, process ...
Jan 21, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Join BDO's Terry Adamson as he sits down with Robin Ferracone to discuss the expanding responsibilities that compensation committees are taking on. Robin is the founder and CEO of Farient Advisors and Chair of the Compensation Committee at Trupanion, Inc., (NASDQ: TRUP). Key Takeaways The role of the compensation committee is continuing to expand requiring oversight needs to clearly define and incorporate broader responsibilities - including, for example, human capital philosophy and culture. Wi...
Jan 13, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as she discusses the challenges and considerations boards face in navigating a SEC 10A investigation with Seth Friedman , Partner with McDermott, Will & Emery and Christopher Tower , BDO’s National Assurance Managing Partner Audit Quality and Professional Practice. Key Takeaways The audit committee and the auditor have very clear, specific and time sensitive responsibilities when an illegal act is suspected. Company management and the audi...
Jan 06, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 24
To put a damper on hacker activities as we all continue to get comfortable in working remotely, some common sense advice from seasoned tech executive and public company board member Nora Denzel to help protect you, your colleagues and your company’s reputation when accessing and sharing sensitive information. Re-boot your routers regularly Question which email you use Turn off listening and camera devices Always use a VPN Choose to use virtual or generic backgrounds for online meetings...
Dec 18, 2020•5 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as she discusses why and how boards are turning their focus to the “S” in ESG with Nora Denzel , a seasoned Silicon Valley technology executive and dynamic public company board of director at AMD, Ericsson, NortonLifeLock and SUSE Linux. Key Takeaways “S” is not just about shareholders – it is about the health and well-being of all of your stakeholders: employees, suppliers, customers, and communities your serve “S” is in an “early” market pha...
Dec 18, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as she sits down with Trish Oelrich , seasoned independent board member, to discuss how boards are helping make corporate initiatives focused around diversity, equity & inclusion successful and how board self-assessments and refreshment efforts are further lending both support to DE&I and providing broader protections for the company. Key Takeaways Boards need to be focused on diversity with specific actions of intentionality not only ...
Dec 09, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as she discusses transformative impacts on corporate governance within the consumer products and retail industries with Anddria Clack-Rogers Varnado , Vice President, Head of Strategy & Business Development for Macy’s and Board of Director for Umpqua Bank (NASDAQ: UMPQ). Key Takeaways Trends for retail and consumer products industries are currently focused on: Personalization of service – Getting beyond marketing saturation and offering an...
Dec 03, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik and Paula Hamric and Meghan Depp of BDO’s National SEC Practice office as they discuss the financial reporting and accounting considerations that audit committees and boards need to understand when contemplating special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transactions. Key Takeaways Don’t underestimate impact considerations – both on the front end in understanding accounting treatment and reporting obligations of the transactions but what may c...
Nov 12, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as she sits down with Lara Lee, Fortune 50 executive and now seasoned independent board member, to discuss how boards can reframe ESG by taking a strategic, holistic approach that moves beyond the obligations of disclosure and mitigation toward the opportunities of innovation and enhanced reputation. Lara is an expert in turning disruption, challenges, and emerging threats into sources of strategic repositioning and innovation. Key Takeaways B...
Oct 21, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as she discusses the significant transition senior management undergoes when leaving the C-suite and stepping into the boardroom with Cindy Fornelli, current board of director at TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp (NYSE: TPVG) and former Executive Director of the Center for Audit Quality. Key Takeaways Gaining an understanding of the business is a must but as important is being able to exercise the attributes you were chosen for to enhance th...
Oct 14, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as she discusses the ins and outs of small- cap corporate governance and the important role of the board with Adam Epstein , former institutional investor and founder of Third Creek Advisors, LLC. Key Takeaways Governance is not a one-size fits all approach, education for directors shouldn’t be either Board members need to be as “expert” as possible in the industries they serve and learn cost-effective ways to understand the competitive landsc...
Oct 07, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as sits down with Sheila Ronning , CEO and Founder of Women in the Boardroom to discuss thoughts on how to not only get more women to the boardroom but peel back and understand self-imposed hurdles that both men and women need to scale in order to get those covered director positions. Key Takeaways Networking is your way to the board – understand who is currently in your network and plan to spend time sincerely nurturing those relationships an...
Sep 30, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Join BDO's Dan Newton in discussion with Nathan Goldman , Ph.D., assistant professor of accounting at North Carolina State University, and co-author of a recently released research study Board Risk Oversight and Corporate Tax-Planning Practices . Key Takeaways When board members get involved in understanding the tax strategy and tax risk of the company, corporate tax burdens go down Companies disclosure risk oversight practice typically have a more robust oversight process Research indicates tha...
Sep 23, 2020•13 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Join BDO in discussion with Gavin Isaacs , the Board of Directors of DraftKings, Inc. (DKNG) and Galaxy Gaming Limited (GLXZ). Key Takeaways The skill sets you need to be thinking about and the types of strengths you bring to a board committee. The pursuit of further education when you’re on a board. Diversity and the importance of it in the boardroom. The difference between board responsibilities in the 90s vs. now. How to join a board that fits your goals....
Sep 23, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Join BDO in discussion with Yvonne Wassenaar , CEO of Puppet and Board of Director for Forrester (FORR) and Anaplan (PLAN). Key Takeaways Be crystal clear about the type of boards you want to serve and the value that you can bring to those individual boards Focus on both those in your network who can put you in front of boards you are seeking but also those who will serve as references for you When driving diversity, you can start in your own backyard by being very intentional in building board ...
Sep 16, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Join BDO in discussion with Don Springer and Dennis Cagan , the Managing Directors for GovernX. Key Takeaways Boards provide important checks and balances that can foster sound governance within an organization Boards should be formed with the organization’s needs in mind in advance of significant transactions Board members can be thought of as affordable consultants and may provide first class advice and unbiased perspectives to management in helping meet strategic objectives Board assessments ...
Sep 09, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Join BDO in discussion with Jessica Denecour , Board of Director for MobileIron (MOBL) and former Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Varian Medical Systems. Key Takeaways Engage in outreach and conversations to let people know you are looking and then listening to functionality that is expected Study up on areas you don’t have deep knowledge while also identifying what you bring from an operational perspective Be innovative and draw on your skillsets/unique attributes Facili...
Sep 02, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Join BDO in discussion with Erin Dwyer , Deputy Director & Stakeholder Liaison at Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Key Takeaways Audit committees continue to seek more education about the PCAOB inspection and reporting process and the PCAOB is continuing to provide more transparency and timely reporting in this area. Investors are becoming more focused on accounting and reporting as a governance issue and are highly interested in understanding audit committee oversight and ...
Aug 26, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Join BDO in discussion with Julie Bell Lindsay, Executive Director of The Center For Audit Quality. Key Takeaways Focal areas that help drive audit quality promoted by the Center for Audit Quality: Understanding and successfully implementing new auditing standards via proactive dialogue among the profession, the regulators and management and audit committees Audit firms focus and investment in their organization’s system of quality control Innovating with emerging effective and efficient audit t...
Aug 19, 2020•21 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Join BDO in discussion with Mercedes De Luca , Chief Information Officer at Pebble Beach Resorts and Board of Director for PFSweb, Inc, and INETCO Systems Limited. Key Takeaways Truly needing to have a strategy on landing a board seat and be proactive Understanding board service will be both rewarding and challenging Being persistent and resilient – it is going to take a while and feel daunting Using board interviews to build rapport and assess whether you will be a good fit with the board and C...
Aug 19, 2020•20 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Join BDO in discussion with Coco Brown, Founder and CEO of the Athena Alliance. Key Takeaways The rise of the feminine architype – roles that women have historically embodied – are increasing board role opportunities for female directors. Organizations like the Athena Alliance are helping women develop their strategy for board service by defining their strengths and presenting and articulating where their contributions best fit in different business models and stages. Board seats are achieved th...
Aug 11, 2020•18 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Join BDO in discussion with Julie Cullivan , Chief Technology and People Officer, ForeScout Technologies and Board of Director for Axon. Key Takeaways Get started early – recognizing it takes time to find a good board fit Identify your “superpowers” that you can bring to a boardroom to differentiate yourself and make positive impacts Recognize if you have been on one board, you have been on one board – all boards and their dynamics are unique Transcript This transcript has been lightly edited fo...
Aug 11, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Join BDO in discussion with Bob Tirva , Audit Committee Chair of Resonant and CFO of Sonim Technologies. Key Takeaways Proactively seek out opportunities to continue education and expand your existing networks in meaningful ways Be patient and open to positions that play to your strengths – including skills and industry experiences Adjust to sitting in the role of oversight versus the role of management Transcript This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity. Nicole: Hello everyone and th...
Aug 11, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Join BDO in discussion with Betsy Atkins , three-time CEO and serio entrepreneur, board of director of numerous corporations, founder of Baja Corp and author of Be Board Ready and Behind Boardroom Doors , as she shares her thoughts on: Defining your strategy in seeking board service and ask yourself “why not me?” Pay forward value and receive value in return Prepare yourself and where you may have gaps to fill, seek resources to fill them How to contribute meaningfully and bring new ideas into t...
Aug 11, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Join BDO in discussion with Alexa King , Board of Directors at Vocera Communications and EVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for FireEye. Key Takeaways Change director recruiting perceptions from seeking traditional, tangible “roles” to recognizing and valuing broader skillsets, capabilities and characteristics Seek out sitting directors as champions and pay it forward by mentoring others Proactive thinking about ways to introduce more diversity to your boardrooms Transcript This transc...
Aug 11, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Join BDO in discussion with Christine Heckart , CEO of Scalyr and Board of Director for 6sense and Lam Research. Key Takeaways In order to add value to a board, needing to first absorb what is going on at the board level Taking time to listen and formulate good and meaningful questions/comments Seeking input on your performance Spending time with executives within the organization Investing in board training in advance of being on a board; continuing your education through board roundtables/foru...
Aug 11, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 5
